This day had been warm, humid and sunny, but once we reached just a few blocks away from our dinner destination, Pann's, the weather made a shockingly sudden change and it quickly became dark and windy in seemingly seconds. Very strange!

Pann's is another Southern California coffee shop, only with an even cooler vibe than Du-Par's. Like Michael Stern writes in his review, plus Glenn1234 and Wintahaba pointed out earlier in this thread, it is an excellent example of Googie architecture. Great outdoor sign, door handle and neon interior sign.The seats are all at the long counter or in attractive red booths. Pann's is one of the best looking Roadfood restaurants I have ever visited.

The food most people come here for is the fried chicken. Now, normally when we go out to eat, the three of us will order different items, so we can try as much of the menu as possible. But, all three of us are big fans of fried chicken, so that's what we all ate. TTM and Mariton both got two piece plates, while mine was the four piece half chicken platter. This chicken had a very thick, delicious, brittle crust. Inside meat wasn't particularly juicy, but still had great flavor. Both of the guys liked our chicken just fine, but Mariton absolutely loved it. She said it reminded her of the fried chicken her grandmother used to make back in the Philippines. Not only did she eat both of her pieces, but she ate a good portion of my half chicken, too. She usually is not a big eater at all, so I was very pleased that she enjoyed it as much as she did.

We did order a nice variety of sides. The mashed potatoes tasted real and were very good. The pineapple slaw was creamy, refreshing, with little chunks of the fruit in it. Mariton liked her corn and the onion rings had a serious crunch and were some of the widest I have ever seen. After that, it goes downhill. The mac & cheese was truly dreadful and tasted like they used Grade Z cheese. Neither one of us took any more than one bite of it. The corn bread muffin was dry and too crumbly. TTM was okay with his biscuit, but thought it needed real butter. My garlic toast was so bad looking, I didn't even bother trying it.

All three of us ordered milkshakes. Mariton went with oreo cookie, TTM the mocha, while mine was chocolate banana. While they certainly look good, they were so full of ice chips, I gave up less than halfway into mine. They do have dessert here, but it is more cake than pie, so I passed. One of the friendly hostesses walked around and handed free smaplesof the pumpkin loaf, which was moist and quite good. Our service was also very friendly.

As you can see, Pann's was really a mixed bag. There was so much too like about the place, yet much of the food I can not recommend. I would go back for the atmosphere and fried chicken, but probably wouldn't venture any further into the menu.

I think you and I took some of the same photos of Pann's architecture. Love that fried chicken. That mac & cheese looked pretty bad, but your garlic toast looked appetizing to me. I think I had mashed potatoes and corn along with my fired chicken when I was there. All I ordered was good.

They must be doing well. They weren't open 24/7 when Janet and I were there. I think they went to something like 9 on weekdays and 10 or 11 at the latest on weekends.

I've also had mixed meal results at Pann's and although I live just a few miles from it, it's been a couple of years or more since my last visit.

Why? (Didn't you wonder?)

The last time I was there, they were out of the things I wanted. I finally agreed to the corn chowder and the waiter said that he could probably scrape enough from the bottom of the pot to give me a serving. Then I watched him do that very thing.

Your description of the macaroni was dead on. Good thing you didn't order the canned green beans.

I always liked the order of wings from Pann's... but not when they're so overcooked that the coating was burned... and served.

Buffetbuster, the Thousand Oaks Dupar's was indeed adjacent to a motel. [We actually had to live for several weeks at a previous motel incarnation in the early 70's, waiting for our furniture to arrive from R.I. - it was a HoJo's then.] An even earlier Dupar's version was just around the corner, also motel-adjacent. The motel-adj. space is a 'tapas' place now. Uneven, sadly.

It was a short drive to our next Roadfood stop, the famous Randy's Donuts. And even if you don't recognize the name, you will almost certainly recognize it for the having the giant donut on the roof. The image has appeared in countless movies, tv show and music videos.

TTM had been here before and Mariton isn't much of a donut eater, so we were here mostly for me. There was a little bit of a line, which went slowly, but that gave me time to look over the menu list. While I was doing that, the other two were walking around and taking photos of this memorable piece of vernacular architecture. BTW, I should mention that you will be seeing a fair amount of photos taken by Mariton and I think she has a real nice photographic eye. Instead of me pointing out which pics are hers, if it is a real good photo, just assume it was hers.

Despite all those racks of donuts in the back, they were all out of several that I tried to order, including devil's food. They also did not have any chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies left. So, I had her box up a half dozen of her choice and a couple of oatmeal raisin cookies. Our box from Randy's was a bright pink. The cookies were nice and soft and surprised me by having small bits of nuts in them. We took the box with us when we checked into our hotel, The Andaz in West Hollywood, for the next three nights.

I did take pictures of the donuts the next morning and nibbled on them a little, but they were no longer fresh and most of them ended up getting thrown away. Which is a real shame, because they sure did smell good when we first bought them. I plan on revisiting Randy's next time in town.

It had been a long day and we were still adjusting to the time change, so I took a solid three hour nap. TTM called and we decided to head back out for a late night meal. Mariton was quite comfy just where she was, so it was just the two guys. We called Wafflein Hollywood to comfirm they were still open and headed out. The famous concert venue, the Hollywood Palladium was half a block away, with a long line of people waiting outside to get in. This meant that parking was a little problematic, but we eventually found a spot nearby, although we only had an hour because of the meter.

Even though it is possible to order food at Waffle that doesn't contain waffles, why would you come to Waffle and not order waffles? In other words, don't waffle at ordering waffles at Waffle.

TTM, started with a good looking bowl of chicken vegetable soup. Possibly forgetting what day it was, he went with the Thanksgiving waffles for his entree. Actually, I was just happy that he didn't try ordering pancakes at a waffle shop. I know that he did make a change to his order so that there would be no pumpkin and he seemed happy with what he ate. Maybe he can tell you more. I do know know that at one point his cranberry sauce spilled in the middle of the table and it made such a big mess, it looked like we had just slaughtered a pig.

There were so many great sounding items on the menu, but I finally settled on the wonderfully named Flight of Wee Waffles. No doubt that this is what Cousin Johnny, a.k.a. Captain Combo would have selected. This is three small waffles with different toppings. #1 was the herb waffle with goat cheese. # 2 was a chive waffle with smoked salmon and dill cream. #3 was a bacon waffle with carmelized onions and a sunny side egg. Though there was no loser in the bunch, the last one ended up being my favorite. Afterwards, I was thinking just how good the smoked salmon would have been on the herb waffle or some other combination. The waffles themselves were all very fresh and at times I could almost taste a malt flavor to them. As a side, there was no resisting sweet potato tots, which were crispy on the outside, sweet and creamy inside.

As you can undoubtedly tell, this is not the usual Roadfood restaurant. And instead of being some small, cozy place, the interior is actually spacious, with high ceilings. There was a stairway next to our booth leading up to a second floor bar. The wait staff all looked like a bunch of models and our waitress was young, attractive and a lot of fun. Despite the fact that we were the oldest people here by at least 15 years and didn't exactly fit in, we really enjoyed the place and would return without hesitation.

Waffle6255 W. Sunset BoulevardLos Angeles, CA323-465-6901

We made it back to the car with five minutes to spare. On the drive back to the hotel, I spotted a 24 hour pho restaurant, a little nugget of information for later on.

There are several of these Big Donuts around town, but Randy's is the most famous probably because of location.

mar52 -

We had seen another big donut in the L.A. region, but it was no longer operating as a donut shop. I think it was some sort of car repair. Besides Randy's, are any of the other "big donuts" still operating as donut shops?

This is three small waffles with different toppings. #1 was the herb waffle with goat cheese. # 2 was a chive waffle with smoked salmon and dill cream. #3 was a bacon waffle with carmelized onions and a sunny side egg.

This is three small waffles with different toppings. #1 was the herb waffle with goat cheese. # 2 was a chive waffle with smoked salmon and dill cream. #3 was a bacon waffle with carmelized onions and a sunny side egg.

This is common Pittsburgh fare, right?

Naah.....they would just throw some french fries on top of the waffle and call it a day!

buffetbusterThis is three small waffles with different toppings. #1 was the herb waffle with goat cheese. # 2 was a chive waffle with smoked salmon and dill cream. #3 was a bacon waffle with carmelized onions and a sunny side egg.

This is common Pittsburgh fare, right?

Naah.....they would just throw some french fries on top of the waffle and call it a day!

Don't forget the slaw.

Buddy

P.S. Looking at that photo of the inside of Waffle; it may be ultra modern design, but the overall layout of the place still exudes a traditional California Coffee Shop vibe.

BB, your trip report is only making me even more excited for my january trip to visit my son Sam. I know we are going to the Palm Springs area for a day but i don't think I can persuade my wife to go to the reagan library though i have been in the past and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to even more of your trip report.. And mariton look great these days.

We had someplace to be at 10:00AM in downtown Los Angeles, so we figured this would be the perfect opportunity to eat at the Original Pantry. They have been in business since 1924 and has been included in many of the Roadfood books. Knowing how popular they can be, we made sure to get here early, arriving at 8:15, but there was still a long line halfway down the block. A good portion of those people were wearing USC apparel, plus others in Notre Dame clothes, in anticipation of the big game at the Coliseum that afternoon. We killed time chatting with the people around us and finally got seated at 9:15 in the main dining area. Had we known, we could have stood in a much shorter line for the counter seats. Next time, we will know. Anyway this sure didn't leave us much time to eat, but we had confidence that the pros here on staff could get us in and out quickly. Being able to look over the menu boards posted around the inside, (sorry about the blurry pic, I was in a hurry) we were able to order as soon as we sat down. Luckily, the food came out in just a few minutes and we dug in with a purpose.

Mariton's breakfast was the very simple home fries and eggs, but let me tell you, those are some beautiful home fries and eggs! TTM started his breakfast with a short stack of pancakes and it was about this time that Mariton and I started planning a pancake intervention for the poor addict. The wide pancakes were spongy in a good way and we all enjoyed splitting them again. He also got a plate of bacon and eggs and when was the last time you saw so much bacon come with a similar dish. This puts all those places that usually give just a couple of strips of bacon to shame. Using his excellent, crispy sourdough toast, TTM started getting creative and made breakfast sandwiches.

My meal started with some wonderful, eggy sour dough french toast, plus a plate of scrambled eggs and extra-thick ham steak. And of course, a side of those crunchy topped home fries came with it. Conversation over the meal consisted of constant updates of the time, how good the food was and how impressed we were by what a great breakfast town Los Angeles was turning out to be.

Service was lightning fast and efficient, exactly what we needed on this morning. Mariton paid at the register, remembering to get out ticket validated for the lot across the street, while the guys hit the bathroom. We ran out the door at 9:53, which should give us just enough time to get to where we needed to be.

While we were eating at Pann's, I remember thinking to myself that this looks like the coffee chop in Pulp Fiction. I made a mental note to myself to look it up later, but completely forgot. I would be very curious to know if it was at Pann's or not.

JRPfeff-Trust me,considering how much I love pineapple, if there was such a place as Big Kahuna Burger, we would have eaten there! Don't you think someone should start such a place or would they owe Mr. Tarantino a boatload of money?

Thanks for the kind remarks mr chips. I always enjoy your comments. It sounds like you have a really good trip coming. Mariton and I did visit the Reagan Museum and maybe our report can help persuade Trudy.

BB: One of my favorite movies is "Pulp Ficton" Tarantino is from Knoxville and has a movie coming out Christmas Eve whic I believe is "Django". I will be sure to see it as well as "Jack Reacher" which is another favorite of mine.

Paul-I am also a big fan of Pulp Fiction and would put itinto my all-time top 10 favorites. While Mariton and I were at the theater yesterday, we saw an ad for Django Unchained and it sure does look like a typical Quentin Tarantino movie, which is a good thing. There was also a preview for Jack Reacher. Now, I personally can not stand Tom Cruise. But, I may see this movie anyway, simply because it was filmed in Pittsburgh and my hometown looked good in the preview.

mar52-Thanks so much for that information. And what a gorgeous photo from The Original Pantry. It does not say in my notes that my french toast was a half order, so I assume it was a full order. I did read ahead of time that the reviews for the place were mixed, but we have nothing but good things to say about the place, other than the long line. Our food didn't just taste really good, it looked really good!

And thanks for the photo of the coffee machine and everything you have added to this thread. It is much appreciated!

Glenn1234-Sorry you weren't able to include The Original Pantry on your trip last year, because you missed a good one. It gives you another good reason to return!

The Los Angeles Conservancy offers several different walking tours of downtown Los Angeles. We were interested in the art deco tour, which leaves from Pershing Square at 10:00AM every Saturday. I dropped off TTM and Mariton to get the tickets, while I parked in the square's underground garage. By the time, I made it up to the surface, our group was just about to leave. There was so many people taking the tour on this day, that they split them into two groups, with us ending up in the smaller group. This was not good, because our guide was obviously inexperienced and although she was undoubtedly knowledable about the subject, she just wasn't a very good communicator.

Regardless, we still got to see plenty of impressive art deco architecture, along with some other styles she pointed out along the while.

So many beautiful buildings downtown and that just scratched the surface. There was several others that we were able to visit, but were not allowed to take photos for security reasons, especially in the Jewelry District. And we also passed Roadfood favorite Clifton's Cafeteriaduring our stroll. I would love to see how the renovations are going.

The tour took a solid 2 1/2 hours on another hot and humid day and despite learning a lot, I was quite happy when it was over. And now, we were definitely hungry and thirsty. Luckily for us, a legendary Roadfood restaurant was just a short distance away.

mar52-I'm sure you know exactly where we had lunch! The garage was a little confusing, but it sure was convenient. If we had to look for parking, we would have never made the tour on time.

I remember reading about Clifton's being in a bad neighborhood and that sure isn't the best area. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to park in Pershing Square again and walking over once they reopen. Is there any kind of date on that?

It look only about three minutes to drive from Pershing Square to Philippe The Original. Philippe has been open since 1908 and claims to be the inventor of the french dip sandwich. Knowing how popular this place is, I was little concerned about there being a big crowd. Easily finding a spot in the parking lot gave some false hope because as soon as you walk in the door, you face this: Nobody likes standing in line, but that does seem to be part of the experience here. While killing time, we admired the sawdust on the floor, to make sweeping up at the end of the day easier. Luckily, the lines moved fairly fast and we were up to the counter in less than 15 minutes. Having not been here in almost a decade, I ordered quite a bit of food. Once they told me how much it cost, the order taker moved a small tray in my direction. Not knowing what it was for, I started to grab it. That is when I realized that you are supposed to put your money on it. They returned the change on the same small tray.

We apparently also got lucky with finding seats in the huge dining area, getting a nice open booth towards the back. But right after that, there were quite a few patrons circling, waiting for someone to finish and a seat to open up. First thing we dug into was the french dip sandwich. Mariton is a big roast beef lover and names Schwabl's (of beef on weck fame, though she eats it without the bun) as her all-time favorite Roadfood stop. Unfortunately, she didn't really care for this sandwich, saying that it was too salty. She is apparently very sensitive too salty, because she thinks many American foods are too salty. As for me, I thought the sandwich was going to be bigger, but it was tender and juicy and I loved it. They do have some mustard on the table, which I tried by itself and it was indeed very hot. Still, I put some on the sandwich and the other ingredients seemed to temper the heat and it seemed to bring out the other flavors. You can also see a pickled egg on the plate, which looks gross and although this was indeed salty, tasted better than expected.

Besides the french dip, they also offer other kinds of dip. Being a big fan of ham, I couldn't resist. Although it was a pleasant enough sandwich, it was nothing out of the ordinary. As a side, we split some cole slaw,which was a wet mayo style and a little on the sweet side.

They had some nice looking pies at the register when we ordered and we couldn't resist trying a few. I am almost always disappointed in pineapple pie. As much as I love pineapple, the fruit is always straight from the can and it just doesn't work. Shockingly, this was real fruit inside and along with a fine, flaky crust, this was a big hit with both of us. As was the banana cream pie. While I could have done without the nuts on top, the dense whipped topping tasted homemade and there was one whole length of banana right through the middle of pie. I have never seen a banana cream pie like it. TTM went for apple, which had some of the thickest crust ever.

Just a short distance down the street is Union Station, Los Angeles' train station since it was built in 1939. We parked, went inside and checked out the beautiful details of the place. And then we decided to just sit down and relax for a spell. The old-fashioned seats here are comfortable, but maybe too comfortable, since TTM quickly dropped off. I was tempted to put a sign on him, saying "Free to a good home", but he woke up before long.

A nap sounded like a great idea, so we got back in the car and headed for the hotel.

BB: You are dead on with Tom Cruise. He is the antihero of Jack Reacher who is 6'5 and weights 250 and a ex MP. Cruise is a midget. Why they selected him? My guess is marketability. Great shot of Mariton with the Louis Vitton bag fast asleep with TTM also passed out.

On the way back to the hotel, we passed an In-N-Out Burger in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard. As fate would have it, this is the location that is mentioned in the Roadfood review. Even though this is part of a big national chain, I had never been to one before and thought it was high time I tried it. Neither TTM nor Mariton were interested in eating, so I thought about going through the drive-thru. But there was at least 25 cars in line. And just parking in the lot and going in was an adventure because of the big crowds. Anyway, I looked over the small menu board and decided on the double-double, which is double meat and double cheese. And despite the fact that this was my first visit, I knew enough from reading about it here on Roadfood that they have a secret menu and told them to make it animal style. The young man who was calling out the numbers for the order was efficient, extremely polite and did it with great style. His name? According to the nametag, Justice. How come my parents didn't give me a cool name like Justice? While I was inside, TTM and Mariton told me that my vehicle was hit twice by other car's doors.

Back in my hotel room, I found out exactly what animal style was. Apparently, this means they put a small animal on your burger, because whatever it was, it ate right through my bag. For a fast food burger burger, this was a keeper. The meat actually tastes like real beef and they use fresh ground meat, never frozen. And that makes a big difference of why they are significantly better than the McDonald's and Burger King's of the world. While this was not even close to being the best burger I ate on this trip, I would not hesistate to eat at an In-N-Out Burger again. BTW, the fries were cold by the time I started to eat them and most of them got thrown away. But, the strawberry shake was thick and good. TTM also asked me to get him something off their (not so) secret menu and he drank a neopoloitan shake.

I spent the next few hours napping and yelling at the tv during the Clemson-South Carolina (don't want to talk about it) football game. Around 9:00PM, the three of us were ready to head back out again and make up for all eating we didn't do so far on this day. I had previously asked TTM if he was interested in going to Killer Shrimp in Marina Del Rey. He said he had eaten there before, loved it, but they were now closed. When I mentioned that they had reopened, this made him very happy and we decided to make the place a priority.

The restaurant is right next to the water, but unfortunately, we did not get seated next to the big window. At night time, how much could we really have seen anyway? The atmosphere was young and hip and it did seem like we were a little out of place, at least late on a Saturday night. TTM kept mentioning how completely different this incarnation of the restaurant was from the original. They do have a fairly big menu of seafood and non-seafood items, but all three of us stuck to what they are best known for, Killer Shrimp. They make this very spicy sauce, which according to the menu, simmers for ten hours. Just because I love rice, I ordered the dish over a bed of white rice. Mariton loves noodles, so she got hers over angel hair pasta. And TTM made the veteran move by ordering the original unshelled, which means it is just the sauce, shrimp and a basket full of really good bread for dipping. The shrimp were plump, juicy and tasted incredibly fresh. The sauce was full flavored, vividly spicy and delicious. It tastes like it has Cajun spices in there and I swear I tasted Worcestershire sauce, but TTM was fairly certain that isn't the case. Anyway, everybody loved their dish. Mariton caught on with the bread and started mopping up that great sauce with it, too. I tried to do that one time and the sauce, undiluted by the rice, tore right through me. Thanks goodness I ordered what I did, because I could not have handled either of their dishes. Still, it was hot enough that I needed almost constant refills of my water and iced tea to keep going.

As a side, Mariton and I are both huge lovers of sweet potato fries and the version they serve here was as good as we have had anywhere. Thin, extra-crispy, creamy on the inside, we could have eaten many baskets of these. Killer Shrimp was a rousing success!

Killer Shrimp4211 Admiralty WayMarina del Rey, CA310-578-2293

But this was no time to rest, for we still had plenty more eating to do!

Phillipe's sandwiches when eaten as is aren't special. Add the cole slaw to the sandwich with a bit of that mustard and you have my favorite sandwich in the city.

Killer Shrimp is biking distance from where I live. I don't walk anywhere.

It gets horrible reviews similar to those that The Stinking Rose get, but I LOVE it!

I've eaten all three of the varieties the three of you chose and I like the original, plain in the bowl the best. I found that the rice or pasta absorbed and negated some of the wonderful taste of the cooking broth.

I want to go there NOW!

The original owners reopened in the new location which was once home to a long gone favorite... Castagnola's Lobster House.

They added many items to the menu hoping to increase their customer base. I added the macaroni and lobster to my order when I was there. I like macaroni and I like lobster but I sure don't like them together.

In January there was a Change of Ownership sign near the front door. I don't know if it affected the operation, but from your pictures I'd say no.

I only have a couple of supplemental photos to add. This is the cross-section of the Philippe's roast beef dip. I like the sandwiches the way they are served, and the fact that they are not modern, over-stuffed sandwiches encourages a second stop somewhere else to grab the next bite!

The Neopolitan shake from In-'N-Out is chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, as you might expect. While shakes are never an easy subject to photograph, you have to be impressed by In-'N-Out's ability to keep the three flavors separated in the cup!

TTM, you've taught me something. I didn't know about the Neopolitan Shake. I must have one.

The fries at In-N-Out Burger are never good and never hot. I still order them.

The thing I like about their burgers is that I can have grilled onions on mine. They're an okay burger. Not fantastic, but good for a quick bite.

I once waited in line at the drive-thru and the car in front of me (I might have written about this in the pat) was full of kids and the mother was on the phone ordering for the entire little league team. She kept changing her order as she was ordering.

I finally got out of my car, walked up to the window and asked the person there if they could ask her to go inside to place her order as the line was now out in the street. I was nice about it and the person at the window was more than happy to not finish with her.

It's not often you go to a lot of places where i have been BB but I must admit I have enjoyed your takes on some familiar places. i loved The Original Pantry almost as much for the history as for the food. The historic sign out front mentioned how Bogey and the Duke ate there a lot. Love the history of the place. IN N Out got a lot of publicity here in Oregon because Oregon State football coach Mike Reilly celebrated road victories by taking his players to IN N Out after wins. When an InN Out is close by I always make a stop.

Just to clarify one thing about Pulp Fiction....it was filmed at the Hawthorne Grill. Its no longer there but it was right there on Hawthorne Blvd and 137th st. . (I grew up in Hawthorne and ate there many times).

Recommendation next time you are in town..... Titos Tacos in Culver City. Some people love them, some hate them and think they are overrated. They are an institution though and are like no other hard shelled beef tacos you have had before.

Next up was the place I most wanted to visit during our trip to Southern California, The Apple Pan. After reading about it so many times on Roadfood and in the Hamburger America book, I had a feeling that this place would be a real favorite. And it did not let me down. It was close to 11:00PM when we arrived and we had a short two minute wait for three seats together to open up at the "U"-shaped counter.Neither Mariton or TTM were particularly hungry after Killer Shrimp, but that sure wasn't going to slow me down.

The menu was bigger than anticipated and I would love to spend a couple weeks eating my way through it. One part of the menu clues you into the essentials, describing them as original family recipes. The first thing brought out were the drinks (mine was root beer) and instead of a glass, you get a cone shaped paper cup, filled with ice, placed in a holder. I always love these little touches! Next out was the fries. When they are delivered, your counterman gives you a seperate plate and dumps ketchup on it for your dipping convenience. Truthfully, the fries were nothing special.

Burger-wise, I went with the hickory burger. For 50 cents extra, you can add Tillamook cheddar cheese and how can you say no to that? This isn't one of those huge burgers people make nowadays, only about a 1/4lber. But, you can definitely tell this is made from fresh ground beef. The burger is topped with mayo, lettuce, pickles and a specially made, slightly smoky hickory sauce. Everything works perfectly together to make a memorable burger.

For dessert, The Apple Pan is famous for their pies. And with apple right in the name, you would think apple pie would be the way to go. But even an apple pie lover like TTM knows that banana cream pie is the way to go and we each got a slice. Once again, they use real whipped topping and there is a tall stack of fresh bananas inside a perfectly flaky crust. This was a great slice of pie! Even Mariton, who had been a casual observer so far, dug in and was talking about how good this pie was for days afterwards.

If the food wasn't enough to win my heart, the atmosphere most certainly was. The countermen were white shirts, aprons, along with paper hats. There is an open window into the kitchen, where you can watch your food being prepared. And the entire place has the feel straight out of seventy years ago. Clark Gable used to be a regular and I understand Jack Nicholson still is. While we were eating, a young African-American came in by himself and ate. During the meal, some other customers came over and had their photo taken with him, but we had no idea who he was.

I absolutely loved The Apple Pan and this was my second favorite experience of the trip. What surprises me is that this place does not have an official Roadfood review yet.

The Apple Pan10801 Pico BoulevardLos Angeles, CA310-475-3585

One last stop to go on this night..... Mariton had been very patient so far, eating where TTM and I wanted to go. But, she had been craving pho for days now and so we stopped in at that 24 Hour pho restaurant we spotted the night before. It is called Pho Citiand is part of a small a small local chain. Here is the main part of the menu. She ordered the rare steak version and she was happy to finally get her pho. Well, that was the plan. She didn't really care for the flavor of the soup and complained how little meat was in it. I felt disappointed for her and decided we would have to hit another pho place before the trip was over. Being full, all I ordered was a honeydew boba smoothie and TTM ate somekind of fried rice dish.

You know I don't share the same enthusiasm as you and TTM as far as In and Out is concerned.....Better than Burger King and McDonalds- Absolutely ! But ordinary at best. I've had much better fast food style burgers. Apple Pan on the other hand was my favorite in LA- not for the beef (which I still thought was tasteless) but for that hickory sauce. If ever found myself in LA again, I would return, but just for that banana cream pie and nothing else.

WJ-They called it a boba smoothie, but it tastes exactly the same as what other places call bubble teas. If there is a difference, I don't know what it is. I really like those and enjoy sucking up those tapioca pearls through the straw. And it was good, though Mariton did not care for it.